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CHAPTER 9

Raising Genomics Awareness Among the

General Public and Educating Healthcare

Professionals on Genomic Medicine

George P. Patrinos
University of Patras School of Health Sciences, Patras, Greece; United Arab Emirates
University, Al-Ain, United Arab Emirates

INTRODUCTION

Genomic medicine aims to make use of an individual’s genomic information
in the context of guiding the clinical decision-making process. In recent years,
there have been significant advances in genomics research that have led to the
delineation of the underlying genomic variants, from single nucleotide varia-
tions to complex genome rearrangements, and/or identify the altered gene
expression patterns with disease pathogenicity. These findings have the poten-
tial to guide physicians in their task of estimating disease risk as well as indi-
vidualizing treatment modalities, which creates unprecedented opportunities
for the customization of patient care including the personalization of conven-
tional therapeutic interventions in various medical specialties, mainly oncol-
ogy, cardiology, and psychiatry (reviewed in Squassina et al., 2010).
However, such developments have yet to make their way into the clinic, one of
the most fundamental hurdles being the lack of genomics education by health
care professionals, who are insufficiently trained to engage with the delivery of
genomics services. At the same time, despite the constant hype about the future
potential of personalized medicine and the generally inflated expectations as
to the likely health benefits that derive from the genomic revolution, patients
and the general public have a very low genetic literacy, which impairs their
capacity to meaningfully integrate genomic information into their lives and
health care decision-making. This phenomenon is more profound in devel-
oping countries and low-resource environments. To better address the latter
bottlenecks, activities addressed toward enriching genetics education and rais-
ing genomics awareness should be planned and meticulously implemented in
a harmonized manner worldwide.

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